However, the liaison officer has been out of contact, even until the bodies have been brought to T.U Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu for post mortem.

The crew of a rescue helicopter began retrieving the victims on Sunday, after attempts the day before were halted by strong winds.

The experienced climber Kim Chang-ho, the first South Korean to reach the summits of the world’s 14 highest mountains without using supplemental oxygen, is among the dead, as per Nepal Mountaineering Association(NMA).

One Korean climber and a Nepalese guide had left the base camp on health grounds and thus survived the ordeal, according to Santa Bir Lama-President of NMA.

“It’s a new destination, what exactly happened is difficult to report because it was night time with all climbers dead. The entire mountaineering family is in deep grief” Lama added.

The climbers – led by Kim – had been waiting for a clear weather for the summit, when the storm hit Friday.